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Matthew Chapter 28

Chapter XXVIII.

1. But in the evening of the sabbath, as it dawned to one of the sabbaths, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, to view the sepulchre.
2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descending from heaven, [and] coming, rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3. But his countenance was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow:
4. But for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead.
5. But the angel answering said to the women, Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus the crucified.
6. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7. And departing quickly, say to His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goes before you into Galilee; there shall you behold Him: lo, I have told you.
8. And going away quickly from the monument with fear and great joy, they ran to tell the message to His disciples.
9. But as they went to tell the message to His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, Hail. But they coming laid hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.
10. Then says Jesus to them, Be not afraid: go report to My brethren, that they go into Galilee; there shall they see Me.
11. But as they were going, behold, some of the guard, coming into the city, reported to the chief priests all things that were done.
12. And being gathered together with the elders, and taking counsel, they gave money sufficient to the soldiers.
13. Saying, Say you that His disciples, coming by night, stole Him whilst we slept.
14. And if this shall be heard by the ruler, we will persuade him, and will make you secure.
15. But they, receiving the money, did as they were taught: and this saying was commonly reported amongst the Jews to this day,
16. But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, into the mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him: but some doubted.
18. And Jesus coming spoke to them, saying, All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19. Going forth, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
20. Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age. amen.

EXPOSITION.

Chapter XXVIII.

verse 1.As it dawned to one of the Sabbaths.-For the signification of the day-dawn,and morning,see AC 2405, 8211; and for the signification of the sabbath, see Exposition, chap. 12:1-8.

Verse 2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake, &c. - By the great earthquake which took place when the angel descended from heaven, and rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, is signified that the state of the church was altogether changed, for the Lord then rose again; and as to His Humanity, took upon Him all dominion over heaven and earth, as He Himself says in Matthew 28:18. By the angel rolling away the stone from the door, and sitting upon it, is signified that the Lord removed every false principle, which had obstructed the passage to Himself, and that He opened the Divine Truth; for stone signifies the Divine Truth, which was falsified by the traditions of the Jews. AE 400.

The angel rolled away the stone from the sepulchre and sat upon it.-To sit is an expression significative of essence and of permanence in the state of a thing and of life, as may be manifest from the passages in the Word where mention is made of sitting before Jehovah, of standing before Him, and of walking before Him. By sitting before Jehovah is signified to be with Him, thus also to will and to act from Him; and by standing before Him is signified to have respect to, and to understand, what He wills; and by walking before Him is signified, to live according to His precepts, thus to live from Him. Inasmuch as such things are involved in sitting, therefore the same expression, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies to be permanent and to dwell. It is by reason of this signification of sitting, that "the angel of the Lord was seen to sit on the stone which he had rolled away from the door of the monument;" and for the same reason "the angels seen in the monument sat one at the head and the other at the feet, John 20:12, Mark 16:5. Those sights were representative of the glorification of the Lord, and of introduction into heaven by Him; for by the stone, which was placed before the monument, and which was rolled away by the angel, is signified the Divine Truth, thus the Word, which was closed by the Jews, but opened by the Lord. And whereas by a sepulchre, in the spiritual sense, is signified resurrection and also regeneration, and eminently by the sepulchre where the Lord was, and by angels, in the Word, is signified Divine Truth, therefore the angels were seen, one sitting at the head, and the other at the feet; and by the angel at the head, was signified the Divine Truth in first [principles], and by the angel at the feet, the Divine Truth in ultimates. each proceeding from the Lord, by which, when it is received, regeneration is effected and there is resurrection. AE 687.

Verse 3. His countenance was as lightning.-By lightning, is signified the sparkling and splendour of the Divine Truth; the countenance therefore being as lightning, denotes the love of truth, for truth which is from love brings with it a flaming principle derived from fire, which principle is lightning. AC 8813.

With the angels there is a flaming beam of light in the midst, derived from the good of celestial and spiritual love, and hence there is a brightness or whiteness round about; they who so appear are likenesses of the Lord; for the Lord Himself, when He showed His divine to Peter, James, and John, shone as the sun in His countenance, and His garments became as the light, Matt 17:2. That the angels, who are likenesses, appear in a flaming beam of light, and thence in white, is evident from the angel who descended from heaven, and rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre. AC 5530.

And his raiment white as snow.-Raiment signifies truths, because the light of heaven is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as the Sun there, and all things that exist in the heavens exist from the light there, in like manner also the garments with which the angels appear clothed; hence it is that the angels sitting at the Lord's sepulchre had raiment white as snow, Matt 28:8; and that their raiment was shining, Luke 24:4. That the garments, with which the angels, appear clothed, correspond to their intelligence, and that they have intelligence according to the reception of the Divine Truth from the Lord, see the Treatise, on Heaven and Hell, HH 177, 182. AE 195. See also AE 395 and AC 8459.

The reason why by garments in the Word are signified truths, is because truths clothe good almost as vessels do the blood, and as fibres the animal spirit. The reason, further, why a garment is significative of truths, is because spirits and also angels appear clothed in garments, and each according to truths belonging to them. They appear in white garments who are in the truths of faith by which good is acquired, but they are in bright shining garments who are in the truths of faith which are derived from good, for good is translucent by or through truth, whence comes splendour. That spirits and angels appear in garments, may also be manifest from the Word, where mention is made of the angels being seen, as in Matthew 28:3, Rev 4:4, 19:11, 13, 14. AC 5954.

Verses 4, 5. But for fear of him, &c. - Holy fear, which is sometimes joined with a sacred tremor of the interiors of the mind, and sometimes horripilation (erection of the hair caused by terror), supervenes when life enters from the Lord in place of man's proper life. The proper life of man is to look from himself to the Lord, but life from the Lord is to look from the Lord to the Lord, and yet as if from himself; when man is in this latter life, he sees that he himself is not anything, but only the Lord. Daniel was in this holy fear when he saw the man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz, his body like the beryl, his face like lightning, his eyes like lamps of fire, and his arms and feet as the shining of polished brass, upon seeing whom Daniel also became as dead, and a hand touched him, and a voice said, Fear not, Daniel 10:5-12. Something similar appeared to Peter, James, and John, when the Lord was transfigured, and appeared as to His face like the sun, and His garments as the light, upon which they also fell upon their faces, and were sore afraid, and then Jesus came and touched them, saying, Be not afraid, Matt 17:5, 6, 7. The Lord also said to the woman who saw Him at the sepulchre, Fear not, Matt 28:10. Likewise the angel, whose face was like lightning, and his garments as snow, said to those women, Fear not you. Matt 28:8, 4, 5. These passages are adduced that it may be known that by fear is denoted resuscitation, and thence adoration from the most profound humiliation. AR 56.

''Fear not," signifies re-creation; for all who come suddenly from their own proper life into a life somewhat spiritual, are at first afraid, but are re-created by the Lord. Re-creation is effected by this, that the Divine presence, and fear on that account, is accommodated to reception: the Lord is indeed present with all in the universe, but nearer, and more remotely, according to the reception of good by truths appertaining to them from Him. It is good in which the Lord is present with, angel, spirit, and man; hence, according to the quantity and quality of good with them from the Lord, so in the degree and quality of His presence with them. If the presence exceeds, it causes anguish and tremor, whereas by accommodation to the state of reception, it causes re-creation, as may appear from what has been said above, AE 78. This re-creation is what is signified by fear not, in Rev 1:17, Dan 10:12, 19, Luke 1:12, 13, 2:8, 9, 10, Matt 28:5, 9, 10. AE 80.

Verses 5, 9. But the angel answering, said to the women, &c.-Jesus met them, saying, Hail. But they coming laid hold of His feet and worshiped Him.-That man after death is as much a man as he was before, although he is not then apparent to the eyes of the material body, may be concluded from the angels that appeared to Abraham, Hagar, Gideon, Daniel, and some of the prophets, and also from those that were seen in the Lord's sepulchre, and afterwards frequently by John, as He relates in the revelation.But it may appear still more evidently from the Lord Himself, for He proved Himself to be a man, both by the touch and by eating before His disciples, and yet He became invisible to their sight. Who can be so extravagantly absurd as not to acknowledge that, notwithstanding His being invisible, He was still a Man as before? The reason why the disciples saw Him, was because their spiritual eyes were at that time opened, and when this is the case the objects of the spiritual world appear as distinctly as the objects of the natural world. There is this difference between a man in the natural world and a man in the spiritual world, that the latter is clothed with a substantial body, but the former with a material body, within which is his substantial body, and a substantial man sees a substantial man as clearly and distinctly as a material man sees a material man. A substantial man however cannot see a material man, nor can a material man see a substantial man, in consequence of the difference between material and substantial, the nature of which difference may be described, but not in a few words. TCR 793.

Verse 10. Then said Jesus to them, Be not afraid; go tell My brethren.-By His brethren, are signified those who are in the good of charity from Him; by sisters those who are in truth from that good: and by mother in signified the church from, them. Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, "Be not afraid; go you, tell My brethren to go into Galilee, and there they shall see Me," Matt 28:10; where also by brethren are meant the disciples, by whom are signified all of the church who are in the good of charity. AE 746.

Verse 16. Into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.- See Exposition, chap. 14:23, 17:1, 24:3, 15-18.

Verse 18. All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth.-That the kingdom in the heavens, and on the earth, is given to the Lord, is manifest from the Word throughout, as in Isaiah, "To us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace," Is 9:5; and in Daniel, "I saw in the visions of the night, and, behold, with the clouds of the heavens, was [one] coming as the Son of Man; and He came even to the ancient of days, and they made Him to approach before Him. And there was given to Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all people, and nations, and tongues, shall serve Him; His dominion is an eternal dominion, and His kingdom that which shall not perish," Is 7:13, 14. The Lord Himself also declares this truth in Matthew, "All things are delivered to Me from My Father," Matt 11:27, and in Luke 10:22; and in Matthew, in another place, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth," Matt 28:18; and in John, "You have given to the Son the power of all flesh, that He may give eternal life to those whom You have given Him," John 17:2, 3; which is also signified by sitting on the right hand, as in Luke, "Henceforth shall the Son of Man sit on the right hand of the virtue of God," Luke 22:69. In regard to all power in the heavens, and on the earth being given to the Son of Man, it is to be noted that the Lord had power over all things in the heavens and on the earth before He came into the world, for He was God from eternity, and Jehovah, as He Himself clearly says in John, "O Father, glorify Me with Thyself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was," John 17:5; and again, "Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham was I am," John 8:58; for He was Jehovah and the God of the most ancient church which was before the flood, and was seen by them. He was also Jehovah and the God of the ancient church which was after the flood; and He was the Being whom all the rites of the Jewish church represented, and whom they worshiped; but the reason why He says all power was given to Him in heaven and on the earth, as if it was then first given, is because by the 'Son of Man' is meant His Human Essence, which, when it was united to the Divine, was also Jehovah; and He at the same time had power, which could not be effected before He was glorified, that is, before His Human Essence, by unification with the Divine, had also life in itself, and thus in like manner was made Divine and Jehovah, as He Himself says in John, "As the Father has life in Himself, He has also given to the Son to have life in Himself," John 5:27. His Human Essence, or external man, is what also in Daniel, in the passage above quoted, is called the Son of Man; and in Isaiah, in the passage above quoted, is called the Child born and the Son given. That to Him was given the heavenly kingdom, and all power in the heavens and on the earth, is signified by these words to Abraham, "All the land which you see I will give it to you, and to your seed after thee for ever," which was before His Human Essence was united to His Divine, and it was united when He overcame the devil and hell, namely, when by His own proper power and His own proper strength, He expelled all evil, which alone disunites. AC 1607.

By Divine Order is meant that order which was in heaven from the time when the Lord, from His Divine Humanity, began to arrange all things in heaven and in earth, which was immediately after the resurrection, Matt 28:18. According to that order, they who were of the spiritual church could then be elevated into heaven and enjoy eternal blessedness, but not according to the former order, for the Lord before arranged all things by or through heaven, but afterwards by or through His Humanity, which He glorified and made Divine in the world; by which there was such an accession of strength, that they were elevated into heaven who could not be elevated before, also that the evil on all sides receded, and were shut up in their hells. AC 7931.

That the Lord is the God of heaven, cannot be doubted by those who are of the church, for He Himself taught "That all things of the Father are His, Matt 11:27, John 16:15,

17:2; " And that He has all power in heaven and in earth," Matt 28:18. He says in heaven and in earth, since He who rules heaven rules also the earth, for one depends on the other. To rule heaven and earth signifies to receive from Him every good which is of love, and every truth which is of faith, thus all intelligence and wisdom, and thereby all happiness, in fine, eternal life. This also the Lord taught, saying, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who believeth not the Son, shall not see life," John 3:86. And in another place, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in Me, although he dies, shall live: and every one who lives and believeth in Me shall not die to eternity," John 11:25, 26. And in another place, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," John 14:6. HH 5.

By the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, which are, that whatever that rock [petra] which denotes the Lord, bound in earth shall be bound in the heavens, and whatever he loosed in the earth shall be loosed in the heavens, is meant that the Lord has power over heaven and earth, as He also says, Matt 28:18, thus the power of saving men, who are in that confession of Peter from faith of the heart. AR 798. See also AC 8769.

Verse 19. Going forth, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.-That baptism was an introduction into the Christian church, is manifest from many considerations, as from these.

• That baptism was instituted in the place of circumcision, and that as circumcision was a sign that they who were circumcised were of the Israelitish church, so baptism is a sign that they who are baptized are of the Christian church.
• That it is only a sign of introduction into the church, is manifest from the baptizing of infants, who are not at all partakers of any reason, nor yet qualified to receive anything of faith, any more than new sprouts are in any tree.
• That not only infants are baptized, but also all proselyte strangers who are converted to the Christian religion, both small and great, and this before they are instructed, if they are only willing by confession to embrace Christianity, to which they are inaugurated by baptism, which also the apostles did, according to the Lord's words, " That they should make disciples of all nations, and baptize them."

In the heavens, infants by baptism are introduced into the Christian heaven, and have angels assigned to them there by the Lord, who exercise care over them; wherefore as soon as infants are baptized, angels are set over them, by whom they are kept in a state of receiving faith in the Lord; but as they grow up, and begin to exercise their own freedom and rationality, the tutor angels leave them, and they attract to themselves such spirits as make one with their life and faith. From which considerations it is evident that baptism is an insertion amongst Christians also in the spiritual world. TCR 677.

In the same work from which the above extract is taken, the following general propositions concerning baptism are explained and confirmed.

• That without knowledge concerning the spiritual sense of the Word, no one can know what the two sacraments, baptism and the holy supper, involve and effect.
• That by washing, which is called baptism, is meant spiritual washing, which is purification from evils and falses, and thereby regeneration.
• That baptism was instituted in the place of circumcision, because by the circumcision of the foreskin was represented the circumcision of the heart, to the intent that the internal church might succeed the external church, which in all things, and in every particular, figured the internal church.
• That the first use of baptism is introduction into the Christian Church, and, at the same time, insertion amongst Christians in the spiritual world.
• That the second use of baptism is that the Christian may know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Saviour, and may follow Him.
• That the third use of baptism, which is the final use, is that man may he regenerated.
• That by the baptism of John the way was prepared that the Lord Jehovah might descend into the world, and accomplish redemption. TCR 667-691.

The reason why the Lord said that they should baptise into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is because the Trine or Trinity is in the Lord, for He is the Divine which is called the Father, and the Divine Humanity which is called the Son, and the Divine Proceeding which is called the Holy Spirit. the divine which is the Father, and the divine which is the Son, is the Divine from which are all things; and the Divine Proceeding, which is called the Holy Spirit, is the Divine by which are all things. That the divine which proceeds from the Lord is no other than the Divine which is himself, may be seen in a small work Concerning the Divine Providence, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience (DP 1 ff) , for it is a subject of deep investigation. That there is a Trine [or threefold principle] in the Lord, may be illustrated by comparison with an angel; for an angel has a soul and a body, and also what proceeds from him; what proceeds from him is himself out of him. Concerning this proceeding [principle] it has been given to know many things, but this is not the place to mention them. Every man who has respect to God, after death is first taught by the angels that the Holy Spirit is not another separate from the Lord, and that to go forth and to proceed is nothing else than to illustrate and to teach by presence, which is according to the reception of the Lord. Whence several after death put off the idea which they had conceived in the world concerning the Holy Spirit, and receive the idea that it is the presence of the Lord with man by angels and spirits, from, and according to which presence, man is illustrated and taught. That it is the Lord alone who is meant by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matt 28:19, is evident from what goes before, and from what follows in that chapter; for in the preceding verse the Lord says, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth;" and in the following verse the Lord saith, "Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the age; thus He speaks of Himself alone; wherefore He says this that the disciples might know that in Him is the Trinity. LORD 46. See also B.E. 32 and l20.

That the whole Divine Trinity is in the person of the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ, may be seen confirmed in the following general propositions concerning the Divine Trinity, as they are explained at large in the True Christian Religion.

1. That there is a Divine Trinity, consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. That those three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are the three essentials of one God, which make one, as soul, body, and operation with man.
3. That before the world was created, there was not this Trinity, but that it was provided and made after the world was created, when God became incarnate, and on this occasion was in the Lord God the Redeemer and Saviour Jesus Christ.
4. That a trinity of Divine Persons from Eternity, or before the world was created, is, in the ideas of thought, a trinity of Gods, and that this cannot be abolished by the oral confession of one God.
5. That a trinity of Persons was unknown in the apostolic church, but that it was hatched by the council of Nice, and was thence introduced into the Roman Catholic church, and from this into the churches separated from it.
6. That from the Nicene, and, at the same time, the Athanasian trinity, has arisen a faith which has perverted the whole Christian church.
7. That hence is that abomination of desolation and affliction, such as was not, nor is about to be, which the Lord predicted in Daniel, and in the Evangelists, and in the Apocalypse.
8. Also, hence it is come to pass, that unless a new heaven and a new church be established by the Lord, no flesh would be saved.
9. That from a trinity of Persons, of which each singly is God, according to the Athanasian creed, several unmeaning and heterogeneous ideas have existed concerning God, which are phantasies and abortions. TCR 163-184. See also DP 262.AC 9818.

The Father is the Divine [principle] Itself, the Son is the Divine Human, and the Holy Ghost is the Divine proceeding, which is Divine Truth, thus it is one Divine, and yet, a Trinity. AE 183.

Verse 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age. - In the Word, frequent mention is made of observing and keeping the precepts and commandments, the words and the law, and by observing and keeping is there meant to understand, to will and to do, as in Matthew 28:20. AE 15. To the consummation of the age, denotes even to the end of the church; see Exposition, chap. 24:3; and then if men do not approach to the Lord Himself, and live according to His precepts, they are left by the Lord, and being left by the Lord, they become as pagans who have no religion; and in this case, the Lord is only with those who shall be of His New Church: these things are signified by until the consummation of the age. AR 750.

That the Lord is present with all, He Himself teaches in Matthew 28:20; and that He makes His abode with those who love Him, in John 14:23. DLW 111. See also TCR 761.

It is said by the Lord that He would be with His disciples even to the consummation of the age, because by the Lord's twelve disciples are signified like things as by the twelve tribes of Israel, namely, all things of love and faith, consequently all things of the church. See AC 3354, 3488, 3858; that these things are signified by the twelve tribes, see AC 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060. That the consummation of the church is when there is no longer therein any charity, and in consequence thereof no longer any faith, has been occasionally shown above. That in this church, which is called Christian, there is scarcely anything of charity, and consequently of faith remaining, thus that the consummation of the age is now at hand, by the Divine mercy of the Lord will be shown in the following pages. AC 4535.

By age, is here meant the duration of the church from beginning to end. AC 10248.

Unto the consummation of the age, means to the end of the church, and the establishment of a new church, with which the Lord will then be. AR 658.

All the days.-That days denote states, see AC 4901.

Amen.-Signifies Divine confirmation from truth, consequently from the Lord Himself. AR 23, 292. See also Exposition, chap. 6:13.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Chapter XXVIII.

verse 1.As it dawned to one of the sabbaths.-What is here rendered to one of the sabbaths, is expressed in the common version of the New Testament by the first day of the week, but the original Greek is eis mian sabbaton, which literally means to one of the sabbaths, and is most probably so expressed with a view to the internal or spiritual sense.

Verse 3. His countenance was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow.-Countenance,in this passage, has respect more to the good of love in the will, and clothing more to the truths of faith in the understanding, thus both expressions united have reference to the heavenly marriage so continually pointed at in the Sacred Scriptures.

Verse 4. The keepers did shake, and became as dead.- Two expressions are here again used to mark the effect of fear, the first having relation to the understanding,and the second to the will, thus both to the marriage of those two principles.

Verse 9. But they coming laid hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.-Another remarkable instance here occurs of the peculiar manner in which the Sacred Scriptures are written, both with respect to the heavenly marriage, and also to the connection of ideas in the internal sense, where they appear scattered in the sense of the letter; for coming to Jesus has relation to the affection of love in the will, laying hold of His feet, to the knowledge of truth in the understanding, especially to faith in the Lord's Divine Natural [principle], and worshiping to the result of both.

Verse 20. I am with you all the days to the consummation of the age.-This is a literal translation from the original Greek. '